


the place where i belong

by bisexualbarry



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Last of Us
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Attempt at Humor, Fluff, M/M, Minor Injuries, Past Character Death, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22077322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualbarry/pseuds/bisexualbarry
Summary: Living in a world where people are constantly fighting for their lives, Tony worries his solo lifestyle will be his end. It's a good thing he runs into Steve and Natasha.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Kudos: 17
Collections: EBD Stocking Fills





	the place where i belong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TinyFuryCloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyFuryCloud/gifts).



> i suck at summaries, lmaoooo
> 
> anyway
> 
> no prior knowledge of the game is necessary. i mention it some, but it's mostly just the universe i placed these characters into. anything else gets explained and then not really mentioned again, lmao
> 
> minor blood warning at the beginning and mentions of past character death
> 
> enjoy!! i hope you like this fury, ilysm

There’s blood all over him, and it’s taking everything in him to not throw up what little he ate for his last meal. Dead infected lay around him as he stumbles out of the large house and outside where he can get some fresh air. His clothes suddenly feel itchy against his filthy skin, but it’s too cold for him to shed any layers.

The crisp autumn air nips at his nose, dry leaves and grass cracking under his worn shoes. Breathing in the cool air, Tony can feel it going through him, cooling down his heated skin. He opens his eyes, not realising he even closed them, and lets out a breath. The suburb around him is quiet save for the soft sounds of birds chirping and wildlife walking through the nearby woods. It brings a small smile to his face as he tries cleaning his hands on his already dirty shirt, doing nothing more than smearing the drying blood across the old cloth.

There was only a handful of infected in the quaint suburb alone, most of them in the house he just emerged from. No matter how many years pass, he’ll never get used to the sight of blood. The infected were human once. Their blood still runs red despite the fungus that grows all over their brain. Their hearts still beat, and their lungs still take in air. The biggest difference is the infected lose their mind the more the infection spreads throughout them.

A river runs nearby, based on the faint sound. Tony doesn’t want to leave the cluster of homes. With winter coming on, he’d much rather have a roof over his head than try and brave a winter moving from place to place again. He’s already nearly lost his life. Once was plenty.

The water is icy to the touch, and he doesn’t spend much time in it, despite how refreshing feeling clean is. He changes into the spare pair of clothes he has stored in his backpack and cleans the dirty clothes in the river. When he’s finished, he heads to a mostly boarded up house and heads inside. He hangs the wet clothes up in the bathroom to dry overnight before heading to block any openings. The couch goes in front of the door and a dresser upstairs blocks the open window.

An old recliner sits against the half wall that the room shares with the kitchen. It smells of mold and is full of holes, but Tony collapses in it and sinks into the old cushions. It isn’t anything like the beds he grew up with before the infection, but it’s still a comfortable place to sleep, and he isn’t about to complain.

He wakes later that evening to voices. They’re almost drowned out by the wind, but Tony didn’t fall into a deep enough sleep to miss it. He stands up slowly, thanking his lucky stars the old recliner doesn’t creak loudly under his weight. He peeks through the boards on a window in the front and sees a man and a woman walking down the road. Tony can’t make out too many details on them, but they don’t sound hostile or in a hurry. Looks can be deceiving, though, so he takes out his gun and keeps an eye on the pair.

“I don’t think anybody’s here,” the woman says, sounding a lot closer than she did before.

“That’s good. That means we’ll be able to set a base up here for the winter. This should be enough housing for everybody,” the man says.

Tony freezes when he hears that. If they’re counting on more people coming back with them, that means they’re from a larger group. That isn’t a good sign for Tony. Footsteps sound like they’re walking towards the house he’s currently in. As quietly as he can, he grabs his things and shoves them into his backpack. His clothes are mostly dry now, but he still mentally curses as he shoves them damp to mix with the rest of his supplies.

The front door is attempted to be opened, but stops when it hits the couch. There’s murmuring of confusion coming from the pair, and it gives Tony a big enough window of opportunity to slip upstairs. There’s a loose board on the window above where he slid the dresser. He hops up and pries it off, setting it down on top of the dresser before wiggling through the opening.

Landing on the roof outside the window, he pauses when he hears the talking coming from inside the house. He doesn’t bother to try to listen to it closely, inching his way closer to the edge of the roof so he can hop down.

Unfortunately for him, he steps on a weak piece of roof. His foot goes straight through it, boards and nails giving way under his weight. There’s a nail digging into his calf, and he knows if he tries to move it, it’ll scratch up his skin. Seeing as other exposed nails around him have rusted with age and weather exposure, he doesn’t fancy contracting something he’s not sure he’ll be able to recover from.

“Who are you?”

Tony looks down off the edge of the roof, seeing the man. He’s glaring up at Tony, a hand on his gun, but not pulling it out.

“Construction worker,” Tony quips. “It appears there’s a weak spot in your roof. Easy fix, really. There’s no need to get upset.” When the man doesn’t move, Tony huffs. “Mind finding a ladder for me? There’s a rusty nail digging into my leg and I don’t feel like jumping down.”

The man doesn’t relax, but does look away. “Natasha, I’ve got someone back here. Might be injured.”

The woman, Natasha, comes out from under the roof, where Tony assumes there was a back door. She raises an eyebrow at Tony, flicking her braided red hair over her shoulder. “Think he’s dangerous?” she asks like he isn’t even there.

“He’s been joking the entire time I’ve been talking to him. Hard to say,” the man replies.

Natasha hums softly, looking back up at him. “What happened?”

“Heard you two and tried sneaking away. Was about to jump down when my foot went through the roof.” Tony tries looking down at his ankle, but with the slowly setting sun and dusk fast approaching, he can’t make out much. “I hate to be a bother, but I think I need help getting out. Don’t think I can pull it out without fucking something up. I can’t really see to be sure.”

The pair exchange a look, talking quietly to one another. Tony waits patiently, trying to move his leg some and hissing in pain.

“What’s your name?” the man asks, catching Tony’s attention once more.

“My mother would smack me upside the head if she knew how rude I was being. I’m Tony.” He does a little wave, making sure to smile a bit.

The man huffs out a laugh. “I’m Steve, and this is Natasha.”

“I’ll go see if I can find anything to climb up there,” Natasha tells Steve.

“So, blondie,” Tony starts. “What brings you ‘round these parts?”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Looking for a place for our group to stay for the winter. We’re a bit of a travelling group, you could say. Normally, we’d just keep moving and stay in one place if the weather got too bad. But this year, we just got a new member who’s only fourteen. Wanted to stay somewhere for the winter so he can keep warm.”

“How touching. I’m a loner.” Tony shrugs. “Have been ever since my wife died.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He sounds so sincere, as if death isn’t around every corner. It’s sweet, though. Everybody usually tried pushing deaths away so they wouldn’t be stuck in their grief. Having someone sound genuinely sorry for a loss… it’s new, but not unwelcome.

“Thank you,” Tony replies, quiet. “The infection got her, few years back. You know how it is. She went off one night, and I never saw her again.”

Steve’s face fell, and he nodded. Tony didn’t think too much on it, and quickly looked away. It wasn’t much longer when Natasha appeared out of the shed in the back with a ladder.

“Should be sturdy enough,” she says, leaning it against the edge of the roof. “Steve, why don’t you go on up there and see if you can get his leg out? I’ll hold the ladder.”

Steve looks like he wants to protest, but wisely keeps his mouth shut. Tony’s smirking a bit as the blond climbs up the ladder to where Tony’s at. Steve’s hands are cold, and Tony recoils a bit before hissing as the nail drags against his skin.

“Sorry,” Steve mumbles, cheeks dusting pink.

Tony smiles a little as Steve digs a flashlight out of his pocket. He shines it down and Tony can see it’s only the nail keeping his leg in the roof. The broken boards will still scrape against his skin as he pulls it out, but it thankfully isn’t as bad as he thought it would be.

“Hey, Nat, is there some sort of pliers in the shed? I think I’ll be able to bend the nail,” Steve calls over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll look,” Natasha calls back before disappearing once more.

“So. You come here often?” Tony jokes, earning a soft laugh from Steve. “You should smile more, you know. I’m always told people look ten times more attractive when they’re smiling.”

“Oh yeah? Does that mean you find me attractive?” Steve teases, smirking at Tony.

Tony blushes hotly at his words being turned against him suddenly. “I’m a married man,” he jokes. It’s been years since he took his wedding ring off, but he can still feel the phantom weight of it. God, he misses Pepper.

Steve’s smile drops once more, and Tony blinks at the sudden change of attitude. “Right, sorry.”

Natasha comes back and tosses a pair of pliers up to Steve. He catches them and asks Tony to hold the flashlight while he reaches down to bend the nail away from Tony. As soon as he’s removing his hand, Tony’s slowly pulling his leg up. His jeans save him from the worst of the injuries, but there’s bits that are ripped through where the material was either thinner, or was ripped because of a nail. There’s a significant amount of blood where the nail had been digging into his skin.

“Nat has the supplies we need to wrap up your leg,” Steve says, moving away once he’s certain Tony will be fine.

“Right. Well, thank you. You’re my knight in shining armor,” Tony jokes with a grin.

Steve rolls his eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile as he turns away. Tony can’t help but smile himself as he careful gets down to the ground where Natasha’s waiting with the medkit.

**~*~**

The group isn’t nearly as big as Tony assumed it was. The fourteen year old that Steve mentioned was a bright kid named Peter. He was born a couple years after the infection really started spreading, and grew up in a boarding school. He snuck out the summer previous, and Steve’s group found him a couple months later. Peter’s a welcome change as he babbles about his knowledge of the wilderness. It’s nice to talk to someone who would be a great scientist, had their situation not been the way it was. It makes Tony ache for the days before again.

He also meets Sam, Carol, Rhodey, and Bruce. They’re all wonderful people with different stories to tell. Sam seems a bit withdrawn and keeps mostly quiet unless he’s talking to either Steve or Natasha. He’s nice enough, so Tony doesn’t think to bother him any.

Carol is Natasha’s girlfriend, and both as sweet as can be and absolutely terrifying. Her and Peter always joke around with Tony, but unlike Peter, there’s a heavy cloud surrounding Carol. It makes Tony curious as to what happened to her.

Rhodey and Bruce are both quiet as well, but not as bad as Sam. Bruce is the more shy type (which Tony never thought he’d see again), and Rhodey’s just on guard. Rhodey talks about his past military life with Tony one night when he was on watch and Tony couldn’t sleep. Tony himself didn’t particularly care for the military since he escaped the last quarantine zone. Rhodey doesn’t seem as thrilled, either, but he gets defensive after a while.

Tony’s leaning against the railing of the porch of the house he’s been sleeping in when Peter finds him. The kid’s taken to him like a fish in water, and Tony enjoys his company too much to turn him away.

“Hey, Steve’s been looking for you,” he tells Tony, standing next to him. He looks far too innocent in their world. It only makes Tony feel guiltier that everything happened. “Said something about watch rotation changing.”

“It’s always changing,” Tony comments, laughing a little. “He’s a bit paranoid, even if it works.”

“Why do you two act so weird around one another?” Peter asks, putting his hands on the railing. “At least when you think no one’s looking. You two get along so well…”

“It’s an adult thing, kid,” Tony answers, patting the top of Peter’s hair. His curls are getting long, getting into the kid’s eyes a lot. “Do you want me to cut your hair?”

“I’m fourteen, not a kid,” Peter grumbles before, “yes, please.”

It’s a bit warmer out today, despite the slowly chilling season. He instructs Peter to sit on the front steps while he grabs something to put on Peter’s shoulders so he doesn’t end up with hair all over his clothes. There’s an old torn up shirt in one of the dresser drawers that he tears all the way and drapes around Peter.

Peter’s playing with the edge of the shirt as Tony starts cutting his hair. It’s a bit greasy, signalling Peter needs to wash up soon.  _ Today would be best _ , Tony absentmindedly thinks.

“You’re not avoiding Steve by cutting my hair, are you?” Peter asks. “This didn’t have to be done right now.”

“No, it didn’t. But I can see the way it keeps getting in your eyes,” Tony replies. The scissors he’s using are rusty and barely work. He has to be extra careful when he brings it to Peter’s dark curls. “You should go wash yourself in the river after this. Your hair’s a bit greasy.”

“Isn’t it too cold to wash in the river?” Peter asks, scrunching his nose.

“It’s still nice enough yet,” Tony replies, brushing the cut strands out of Peter’s hair.

“Alright.”

Tony’s finishing up cutting Peter’s hair when Steve and Natasha approach him. There’s a small smile already on Natasha’s face when she spots Peter waiting patiently for Tony to finish. She’s always had a soft spot for him for as long as Tony has known the group. He wonders if it extends to all kids, or if it’s just Peter.

“Alright, squirt. You’re all finished.” He runs a quick hand through Peter’s hair, shaking loose any lingering pieces. “Go do what I asked.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Peter says, grinning wildly before running off.

“Brat,” Tony mutters under his breath. He’s smiling, though.

“I sent Peter for you ages ago,” Steve says, an eyebrow raised. He doesn’t look mad to find Peter with Tony yet.

“Yeah, well. Figured I’d cut his hair while he was here,” Tony replies, walking into the house.

“We need to rotate again,” Steve says, him and Natasha following Tony into the house.

“Peter told me that much,” Tony replies. “Also brought up that he wants to be added to the rotation.”

“He’s a great shot, but he’s too young,” Natasha speaks up. “We’ve told him as much time and time again.”

Tony sighs softly, leaning against the counter. “Look, I’ve… I’ve been thinking, actually. This is a great area. Recluded, lots of resources. Plus, if need be, there’s a large city about two hours away by car. Why don’t we make a fence of sorts? It’d make keeping watch easier if there was only one way to get in or out.”

“I’m only doing that if we plan on staying here long term,” Natasha says.

“Look, Steve. You said yourself you guys travel a lot, but since Peter joined, you wanted to stay in one place. Why don’t we do that here? Granted, there’s no kids his age, but if anybody wanders through and wants to join, it’d be extra eyes. It’s what you guys did with me,” Tony says. “He’s still a kid. He doesn’t need to be out there all day every day.”

“He makes a valid point.” Natasha moves to lean against the counter next to Tony. “Settling down in one place could be good for us. No more being on the run all the time. Rhodey told me the other day he’s tired of that. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much to convince the others to stay.”

“Where would we even get the materials to build a fence?” Steve asks.

“Steve, we’re surrounded by trees,” Tony states flatly. “I found an axe in one of the sheds a day or so ago. We’ll use lumber, mud, stone, whatever else we can find.”

“It won’t be anything like the zone’s, but we could make it sturdy.” Natasha shrugs. “I don’t see why we couldn’t.”

“Alright, alright,” Steve says with a laugh. “You don’t have to convince me anymore.”

Tony stares at Steve for a moment, blushing a little under the intensity of his blue eyes. He eventually clears his throat and looks away. “I’m going to go make sure Peter’s actually doing what I asked him to.”

**~*~**

They don’t plan on starting on a fence until spring, but they still have to fight off infected and raiders alike. It becomes mindless work after a while, and Tony finds himself enjoying falling into the easy routine.

Peter hits a growth spurt at some point and his shoulders are to Tony’s. Steve doesn’t think he’ll get much taller, but Tony still grumbles at being the same height as a fourteen year old.

It was rather cute, Tony admits, when they broke the news to Peter that they’d be staying there for a while, at least until it wasn’t safe anymore. Mere hours after they told him that, he happily called it home while bouncing from place to place. More often than not, he would stay with Tony, but it seemed to be an endless sleepover for the teen to pass out anywhere he pleased.

“You look happier,” Tony comments one day when he finds Steve watching Carol teach Peter how to sled. It’s quite a sight, he’ll admit. Both are covered in snow, and Tony’s certain Peter will end up with a cold. Though Peter’s smiling so big and laughing so happily that Tony can’t be bothered to get worked up about it. Carol will keep an eye on him, anyway.

“I guess it took settling somewhere for me to feel at peace,” Steve admits. “I’ve always thought that I had this sense of… I don’t know, discontentment. Figured it was with the way everything was. Now I realise I was just unsatisfied of not having a place to call home.”

“And now?” Tony asks, raising an eyebrow.

Steve looks around, smiling. “I’m home.”

Smiling back, Tony reaches over and grabs Steve’s hand. He laces their fingers together gently, feeling the warmth from holding the other man’s hand. Steve presses a kiss to Tony’s temple, Peter’s laughter ringing out in the background.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are much appreciated!! 💛
> 
> [my tumblr](http://bibibarry.tumblr.com)   
>  [my instagram](http://instagram.com/olivxrry)


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